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Bryn Mawr lives on

BRYN MAWR, PA — Inspiring story of one woman’s project of turning an endangered theater into a local film institute.

Like so many art-house pioneers — those perpetually optimistic souls who devote their lives to the restoration and preservation of institutions and cherish the notion that cinema should go beyond the big-budget sequel — Juliet Goodfriend said she never imagined that she would one day found and lead a film institute. In many ways, it was a mission that chose her.

Seven years ago, Ms. Goodfriend was sitting on the Board of Trustees at Bryn Mawr College, located just west of Philadelphia, when she began hearing rumors that the local downtown movie theater was about to be sold to a developer who wanted to turn it into a fitness center. She was immediately mortified by the prospect of losing this Bryn Mawr landmark, an old-time movie palace that served nearly 30,000 students and even more year-round residents as an anchor in the downtown business district.